and make my own! It was seriously one of the most simple DIYs I've ever done, so I just had to share it with you guys. And better yet? The entire thing cost me less than £20 to make. So naturally I decided to make two of them. One for each arm, obvs.

You guys may have seen me sporting a Celine-style bag in some of my recent outfit pictures, and whilst the real thing is still at the top of my wish list, realistically it's not going to wind up in my wardrobe any time soon. So, I decided to get a lil creative

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I'm one of those people that have a dream wardrobe in mind, so when it comes to actually shopping I always get disappointed when I come across the perfect pair of trainers that has one lace hole too many. Or if the laces are 1mm thicker than I'd like to be. Or if - you get it. I'm crazy. I like specifics. So when I got my heart set on a very specific pom pom bikini (damn you,

Pinterest) that apparently didn't exist in the real world, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own. And since Stylist Magazine were just so impressed with my sheer haberdashery skills and domestic goddess-mess (lol) they decided to film the whole thing too! Now please, brace yourselves for the best sewing skills you've ever seen..

How to do it:

1. Run the pom pom trim across the bikini edge2. Trim to size (leave extra to account for stretch)3. Pin down the trim to secure into place4. Carefully sew the trim to the bikini5. Tie a knot in the end to secure the trim6. Cut the thread and voila!

Last week I was invited up to London to take part in the Dell Sessions based at the Bourne and Hollingsworth buildings (AKA the most Instagrammable place in existence) to try out the new Dell XPS because - let's face it - us bloggers are suckers for new gadgets. I spent the day surrounded by some of my favourite people, swapping stories and snapping Instagrams in the designated flat lay station. And no, I'm not joking. There was an actual work station there to help you create your own flat lays. Best thing ever.

Anyway, whilst it may have just looked like I spent the day snacking and socialising (which is only half true) I did get to grips with the new Dell XPS laptop and, guys, I kinda need one. Here's me typing away on a laptop that barely stays charged for three hours, and then there's Dell's version that stays alert for up to eighteen hours. That thing stays awake for longer than I do.

Not only that, but during the event we were also treated to a few masterclasses from famous faces in the industry - which is what I've chosen to share with you today. The second session of the day was hosted by Shini - who as we all know is the mastermind behind the blog Park & Cube and Cube Collective - and focussed on a bloggers graphic toolkit.

The session focussed mostly on how to transfer your handwriting onto the internet. You know how you log into Instagram and you see millions of inspirational quotes in beautiful calligraphy? She taught us exactly how to do this. Or at least, kind of how to do it. The fancy writing part was lost on me and so I simply decided to embrace my toddler-esque hand writing and go with it.

Shini talked us through the process and encouraged us to step outside of our creativity comfort zones. She advised us to stop copying and pasting various fonts online into our own spaces (ahem, guilty..) and instead inject more of ourselves into our posts by literally hand writing it. Or at least, a few words of it - don't go expecting a handwritten blog post from me any time soon. That's a big old hand cramp waiting to happen.

Anyway, to celebrate the return of my Tip Tuesdays I've decided to share everything I learnt during that session, in hopes that some of you might get some use out of it for your own blogs! You can thank Shini Park for this one, but the handwriting is all me baby.

As if that's anything to be proud of.

xo.

how to create your own handwritten font

STEP ONE:

Get a plain piece of white paper and start sketching! Be sure to use a dark ink to make sure it shows up well enough for the next few steps. The trick is to keep on doodling your life away until you come up with the perfect typography. You can easily mix and match the letters, so don't fret!

STEP TWO:

Once you're happy with what you've done (woo!) get yourself in some decent lighting and snap away in flatlay format. Obviously the better the quality of camera, the better the outcome of the image, but an iPhone works just fine. If you have one, try scanning in your work for the best quality possible.

STEP THREE:

Next it's time to upload your images which you can do by either uploading in the bog-standard way or emailing yourself the photo. Open your typography flatlay and your chosen photograph into Photoshop (or your photo editing programme of choice!) and select the image with your writing. Next, click on the image tab, scroll down to adjustments and select the levels option.

STEP FOUR:

This might look a little intimidating, but levelling out your text is a piece of cake. The aim of the game is to get the white as white as possible, and the black as black as possible. You can also do this by upping the contrast and brightness, but changing the levels takes just a few seconds. Play around with the three arrows underneath the graph until you get the perfect pic.

STEP FIVE:

Now it's time to desaturate your image. It doesn't make too much of a difference if you're using black ink and white paper, but I do it anyway just to be safe - like I said, we want the black as black can be, and same for the white. You can find the desaturation option by selecting the 'image' tab and however over the 'adjustments' option. Click that for instant B&W.

STEP SIX:

Now we want to select the words / letter / doodles that we actually want to use on our final piece. To do this, select the 'lasso' tool (near the top of the left toolbar) and roughly draw around the text you want to include. Don't worry about the extra white space for now. Next, hold down the 'CMD' key and drag your selection over to the image you want to put the text over.

STEP SEVEN:

So now we have this big old blob of white with some text on top. Not quite what you were looking for? No sweat. Whilst you've still got that layer selected, head on over to the tool bar on the right hand side and find the drop down menu highlighted in the picture (it'll probably be the menu with the word 'normal' on it by default). Click that and voila! No more white background.

STEP EIGHT:

Now all you have to do is shift your text to it's desired location and there you have it - you're officially on your way to becoming Shini herself. Ahem *goals*. Anyway, be sure to fiddle around with different materials (inks, markers, biros - you name it) to find out what mediums you prefer. Other than that, it's all about practise, practise, practise!

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*This post is in collaboration with Dell, but all thoughts, opinions (and handwriting) are my own!*

SHOP THE LOOK:

The past week has been full of challenges.

Oh alright, I'll stop with the dramatic one-liners (for the time being anyway) and cut right to the chase. As of Friday afternoon, I am officially no longer a student. That's right people, I finished my degree! You know, so long as I pass and all that. But yes, a few days ago I handed in my dissertation and waved goodbye to University, and boy did that feel good. I'll get into that another time, but let's just say I've pretty much been counting the days since I started. Huzzah! I've officially indebted myself for a piece of paper that says I'm semi-smart enough for a job I don't even want any more. Ahem, anyway..

(Side note: I'm still working on finding an alternative conjunctive adverb to 'anyway'. Side note numero dos: despite my - hopefully - impending degree, I still had to Google what the hell a conjunctive adverb was.)

Anyway! After weeks of being near enough non-existent in the online world, I'm finally back! It feels so good being able to write about what I want to, how I want to (FYI, writing a 10,000 word essay on old fashion theories is not fun, like, at all) - so good in fact, that I plan on doing it a lot more, since, you know, it's now my job(!) to dedicate my life to this thing. Before I was trying to cram full-time blogging and full-time studying into my day, but for the first time in my life I can finally dedicate myself to the internet (uh, hello childhood dreams). I have so many ideas, so many projects coming up, so much to update you on and - let's face it - a lot of making up to do blog-wise.

So to celebrate some what of a fresh start for the blog, I've decided to take it back to basics both in terms of today's outfit and the story behind it. Basically, a few weeks ago I was asked by White Stuff to take part in a challenge, or - in my case - a non-challenge. Here's the deal.

Anyone that knows me will know that I've been working pretty much flat-out for the past few years. What can I say? Girl likes to be busy. My family and friends have been telling me to take some time out for months now, but I just couldn't justify getting behind on work for a few hours of, well, nothing. So when I was given the challenge to test out the quality of White Stuff clothing, whilst taking some time out of work..I mean, how could I say no? Well, I didn't. And so, I headed to the beach for a whole day of nothing.

Okay, nearly nothing. I did have to go to class in the morning. But you know what? It did me a whole world of good. Apart from the few minutes of outfit snapping it was a technology-free zone, just like some time off should be. I did however connect to wi-fi as soon as I left the sand. Old habits die hard. The clothes, however, looked as good as new, minus a few grains of sand..

Let me know what you'd like to see on my blog in the future!

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*This post is in collaboration with White Stuff, but all thoughts and opinions are my own!*

It feels good to post today. Still strange (I don't think I'll ever get 100% used to posting pictures of myself on the internet) but still, pretty good. Now I'm sure you geniuses out there have noticed a bit of radio silence lately - especially in regards to my oh-oh-tee-dees - and I thought it was about time I did some explaining. I promise you - honestly, I do - I haven't been slacking in the picture taking sides of things. It's just that every time we go out to shoot I've come back, shoved the memory card into my laptop, scrolled through the snaps...and then felt like I was looking at a completely different person. I've been trying so, so hard to look how I thought I wanted to look. And you know what? That was my problem all along.

I think it's safe to say that my style has always remained pretty monochromatic, from the clothes I wear, to my home decor tastes - even to my choice of transport (okay, so my car might be more silver-blue than monochrome, but still, I'm dreaming of a new all-black DS 3). Just one Google of my name (don't try to deny you haven't done this) and pretty much every outfit through the ages (yes, even those embarrassing Tumblr selfies from 2012) has consisted of black and white basics. You know that saying 'a girl can never have too many shoes'? My life revolves more around the idea that I can never have too many white shirts and/or black jean combinations. Sure, I've tried to do colour (and failed), I've tried slinky dresses (and failed) and I've tried to systematically copy other people's style in an attempt to find my own. Think it's safe to say that that one was a big fat fail too.

See, when it comes to finding your signature style, chances are it's already right under your nose (literally, just look down and see what you're wearing!). If you find yourself gravitating towards a certain look, or if you have that fail-safe outfit that you go to after over-sleeping, then that's more than likely your style. During the past few weeks I've fallen in love with so many looks on the catwalk. I've loved the ruffles, the frills, the flared cropped jeans and - yes - I've even loved the sequins. Will I be first in line for the full AW16 collection? Maybe not. But will I incorporate these trends into my own look? You bet ya. Just because the latest 'it' designer sends a floor length sequin gown down the runway, it doesn't mean you need to don h-t sparkles as well. If you like it, go for it, if you like it in moderation, that's perfectly fine too.

A lady on the complete opposite style spectrum of me is the lovely Iris Apfel. She's all about opulence, I'm all about minimalism. She rocks colour from top to bottom, I feel adventurous if I wear navy. She has her style, and I have mine, and it's great.

I'll always remember one quote from Ms. Apfel, and that is: 'you have to look in the mirror and see yourself. If it feels good, then I know it's for me.' If it doesn't feel good, then it isn't, no matte how many models or celebrities rock it. Your style is yours - whether you choose to wear a feather boa out to the supermarket or if you sit comfortably with me at the 'all black errythang' table. Pull up a chair! You’re all welcome here.

New DS 3 and New DS 3 Cabrio make a winning formula even better. Designed with a clean new look the car is the automotive embodiment of Parisian chic. Beneath its stylish exterior New DS 3 is built on the DS foundations of technology, refinement and attention to detail. From DS LED vision headlights through to 7" touch screen and mirror screen, the car is full of technology to make life easy. Watchstrap design leather seats is an example of the refinement in New DS 3, ensuring that our most compact car meets the exacting standards we demand of every DS. It's also a car with a multitude of options to personalize so the the owner can make the car their very own style statement.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by DS 3 via Mode Media. The opinions expressedherein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of DS 3.